Monster Hunter games have been on my backlog for far too long. The time of Monster Hunter Generations came and went, and it became yet another game on my ever-growing list. Then came E3 2017, and Capcom debuted the gorgeous Monster Hunter World announcement trailer. Now that I’ve gotten some time with it at Tokyo Game Show, I’m confident that this is going to be the Monster Hunter that finally gets me into the series.
Stressing that I was new to Monster Hunter, a helpful Capcom representative helped me find a weapon to suit my play style and skill level. A majority of the games I’ve played at TGS have been understandably in Japanese, but even in English the Monster Hunter World equipment menu was intimidating at first glance. I was happy to find that the menus were designed with teaching in mind as each weapon has an instructional preview video.
I ended up trying out the duel blades first. They allowed me to move quickly, and when I accidentally kept sheathing my weapons, I could draw them quickly too. As I messed around with the controls I quickly fell behind the rest of my team. I got to play Monster Hunter World’s co-op mission on Wildspire Waste, a dry area with plenty of wildlife and the occasional murky swamp. Monster Hunter World Director Yuya Tokuda was on my team, so the pressure was on to catch up and contribute to the hunt the best I could.
I was playing with one of Monster Hunter World's directors. The pressure was on to catch up.
My allies were clearly marked on the minimap. I opted to follow the trusty scoutflies instead so I could find my team member closest to our prey – they led me to Tokuda who was already taking on the beast, of course. On the way there I had to resist the urge to collect everything the scoutflies found for me, but when I reached Tokuda and our target, it was easy to focus on the fight.
Many of the creatures I had passed on the way to our target were around the size of a deer or maybe as large as a cow, but the monster we fought, Barroth, outshined them all. It thrashed and threw gross bombs of mud at my team. We chased it through the dry paths until we reached a dune. Just as it looked like it was getting ready to go down, the ground beneath us caved in and Barroth fell into a cave below. I struggled to keep on the higher ground, but my team and I were forced to descend into the pit.
At this point I was confident we’d done quite a lot of damage. The dual blades lent to simple hack-and-slash combat, and I landed plenty of hits on its tail and legs. I felt effective. But down in the pit, we found a greater monster that wasn’t pleased with any of us being in its domain. Diablos rose and targeted Barroth. I stood back and watched the beasts reaffirm their position on the food chain. Alone, I was clearly several levels beneath them. I found that out first had when Diablos destroyed me in two hits. I thought I was safe when it burrowed underground, but it taught me to not be so naive.
Once out of Diablos’ cave, we followed Barroth to the gross swamps. We knocked off its tail and it tried to retreat to a safe place, but that place was occupied by yet another monster. The Jyuratodus slithered through the mud and squeezed most of the life out of Barroth. I was impressed by the constant fights that’d break out between the giant monsters. I landed the last few hits with my team and Barroth was done for. I craved some extra pieces off Barroth before we were ejected from the quest. I felt a little bad for killing it, but it was satisfying to work with a team to take down such a large target.
I got to play the same mission once more. Before starting, I spent some time in our base camp and treated my temporary character to a massive feast. It was glorious. Before we headed out I decided to change my weapon. Though I liked the dual blades well enough, I wanted to use something that’d really challenge me in combat. I picked the hunting horn.
The hunting horn required a lot strategy. As a heavy weapon, I had to adjust for the time it took to draw my weapon, and I generally moved slower. I also had the responsibility of giving my teammates buffs that were conjured based on my attack patterns. The hunting horn is literally a giant horn, so each of my three attacks would play a different note. I loved that in order to make the best use of the weapon, I effectively had to memorize different songs and activated them with one final swing. Once activated, I’d give myself and nearby teammates buffs. It wasn’t easy to execute in the heat of battle, but a staff near my health and stamina meter that kept track of my notes helped greatly. It also provided suggestions for my next note.
I was told that each hunting horn sounds different. I wanted to find more immediately. Musical weapons and items in games are a big deal for me, so the hunting horn was a welcome challenge. I unfortunately didn’t get to mess too much with customization or crafting, but it is something I’m looking forward to exploring in the future.
Between help from the Capcom rep and a lot of the in-game commentary, I put down the controller feeling like I had learned a lot. Promptly after leaving my demo I messaged a few of my friends. They’re going to be in my party, I’m going to give them buffs, and we’re going to slay some beasts.
Monster Hunter World’s worldwide release date is on January 26, 2018. If you're a Monster Hunter veteran looking for a more advanced look at the game, check out IGN's detailed monster hunting preview. Visit IGN’s Tokyo Game Show 2017 hub for more previews and news from this year's TGS.
Miranda Sanchez is an Editor at IGN. You can chat with her about video games and anime on Twitter.
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